On June 12, 1849, representatives of the Disciples of Christ voted to establish an academic institution, which would later become Hiram College.[5] On November 7 that year, they chose the village of Hiram as the site for the school because the founders considered this area of the Western Reserve to be "healthful and free of distractions".[6] The following month, on December 20, the founders accepted the suggestion of Isaac Errett and named the school the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute.[5]
Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, Hiram, 1858
The institute's original charter was authorized by the state legislature on March 1, 1850, and the school opened several months later, on November 27. Many of the students came from the surrounding farms and villages of the Western Reserve, but Hiram soon gained a national reputation and students began arriving from other states. On February 20, 1867, the Institute incorporated as a college and changed its name to Hiram College.[5][6]
During the years before it was renamed Hiram College, 1850–1867, the school had seven principals, the equivalent of today's college presidents. The two that did the most in establishing and defining the nature of the institution were Disciple minister Amos Sutton Hayden, who led the school through its first six years, and James A. Garfield, who had been a student at the institute from 1851 to 1853 and then returned in 1856 as a teacher. As principal, Garfield expanded the institute's curriculum. He left the Institute in 1861 and in 1880 was elected the 20th President of the United States.[6]
In 1870, one of Garfield's best friends and former students, Burke A. Hinsdale, was appointed Hiram's president. Although there were two before him, Hinsdale is considered the college's first permanent president because the others served only briefly. The next president to have a major impact on the college was Ely V. Zollars, who increased enrollment significantly, established a substantial endowment and created a program for the construction of campus buildings. Later presidents who served for at least 10 years were Miner Lee Bates, Kenneth I. Brown, Paul H. Fall, Elmer Jagow, and G. Benjamin Oliver.[6]
In 1931, shortly before Hiram celebrated the 100th anniversary of Garfield's birth, there was a debate in the community about changing the name of the school to Garfield College. There were strong advocates on both sides of the issue. Among the 2,000 guests at the centennial celebration were three generations of Garfield's family, including two of his sons. The idea of changing the college's name was not mentioned at the event and the idea was abandoned.[7]
In 1967, Paul and Maxine Frohring donated their recently acquired 75 acres of land in Garrettsville to Hiram College to promote wildlife research.[2] James H. Barrow, a biology professor at the college, founded the Hiram Biological Station on the land, causing the place to later be named in his honor in 1985. Originally, the property had a beech-maple forest, a stream and a bog, but over the years it grew into over 500 acres containing forests, fields, ponds, wetlands, and more.[3] The Frohring Forest–150 acres of mature beech-maple trees–Silver Creek, Eagle Creek, and the Observation Pond–which has many waterfowl species, along with a pair of trumpeter swans–are some of the Field Stations’ most well-known natural attractions.[4] The property also contains multiple public hiking trails, and eleven facilities for different uses such as teaching, housing animals, research, and so on. Two of the most notable buildings are the Frohring Laboratory, which uses geothermal heating and cooling and was the first LEED certified building at Hiram, and also houses a miniature indoor aquarium with different breeds of fish, amphibians, reptiles, and occasionally mammals.[8] The other is the Endangered Waterfowl Conservation Facility, which houses multiple different breeds of endangered birds and allows students to gain valuable hands-on experience.[4]
Entrance to the Field Station, showing Frohring Laboratory
A unique program established by the Field Station is the Grassland Program. Beginning in 2011, Land Stewardship Manager Emliss Ricks has been working on establishing grasslands in three locations on the property.[9] The first location is a one-acre prairie to maintain the natural plant diversity, and it was established by the late botany professor Matt Hils. The second location is twenty acres, and the main objective here is to protect Silver Creek’s watershed, increase plant diversity, and provide a habitat for diverse species.[9] The third location is three acres and is located by State Route 82 to act as a display for those passing by.
Academics
Koritansky Hall, home of the Garfield Institute for Public Leadership.
As of the 2019–20 academic year, Hiram's student body consists of 1,116 undergraduates from 27 states and 11 foreign countries.[10] Of the 81 full–time faculty, 95% hold a Ph.D. or other terminal degree in their field.
Hiram specializes in the education of undergraduate students, though the college does have a small graduate program. Hiram confers the BA, BSN, and MA degrees. The college offers 33 majors and 40 minors for traditional undergraduates, in addition to pre-professional programs for specific fields.[11] Interdisciplinary studies have also been a part of Hiram's curriculum for decades.[12]
Hiram's curriculum requires all students to complete one course in each of nine academic areas: creative methods, interpretive methods, modeling methods, experimental scientific methods, social and cultural analysis, experiencing the world, understanding diversity at home, interdisciplinary, and ethics and social responsibility.[8] Its education plan also includes international study and independent study opportunities, and faculty–guided research projects. Currently, almost all majors require some form of extensive independent project or apprenticeship experience.
Hiram's academic program consists of five schools: Arts, Humantities & Culture; Business & Communication; Education, Civil Leadership & Social Change; Health & Medical Humanities; and Science & Technology.[13]
The college's curriculum is currently marketed under the name Hiram Connect, which involves four steps: First Year Colloquium/Foundations of the Liberal Arts, Declaration of Major, Experiential Learning, and a Capstone Project.[14]
Hiram has five "Centers of Distinction" for interdisciplinary studies: Center for Integrated Entrepreneurship, Center for Scientific Engagement, Center for Literature and Medicine, Garfield Institute for Public Leadership, and Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature.[9]
Hiram will join the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) for administrative purposes on July 1, 2024, coinciding with its move to that conference as a men's volleyball associate.[20] It will continue to compete in other NCAC sports through the 2024–25 school year before fully joining the PAC. Hiram had been a full PAC member from 1971 to 1989.[21]
The Hiram College basketball team won the gold medal in the collegiate division of the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis.[22][23] It was the first time that basketball was part of an Olympics; it was included as a demonstration sport and no foreign teams participated.[22][23]
The Cleveland Browns held their training camp at Hiram College from 1952 through 1974, making it the longest–tenured training site in the team's history.[24][25]
The college's residential complexes include Booth-Centennial, East Hall, Whitcomb Hall, Miller Hall, Bowler Hall, and the Townhouses.[26]
Student clubs and organizations
The Kennedy Center student union
Student Senate is the elected student governing body of the college. It serves as a liaison between students and the school's administration, and oversees all student clubs and organizations, collectively called the Associated Student Organizations (ASO). The Kennedy Center Programming Board (KCPB) falls under the auspices of Student Senate, and is responsible for planning educational, social, recreational, and cultural programs.[27]
Hiram has close to 70 registered student clubs and organizations in eight categories: Academic, Greek Social, Musical, Political and Activism, Publications and Communications, Religious, Special Interest and Service, and Sports and Recreation.[28] Fraternities and sororities are not permitted on campus, but there are six Greek social clubs: Delta Chi Lambda, Kappa Sigma Pi, Lambda Lambda Lambda, Phi Beta Gamma, Phi Gamma Epsilon, Phi Kappa Chi, and Greek Social.
Since 1971, Hiram has maintained a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the national honor society for the liberal arts.[29] The school has also had a chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), a national leadership honor society, since 1962.
Notable alumni and faculty
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(July 2024)
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